Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company is examining the possibility of launching pension funds.
According to company managing director Ajay Srinivasan, the final decision will depend entirely on the change in the government's policy.
Given the current investment restrictions that require bulk of such funds to be locked up in government securities, mutual funds will not be able to match the 12 per cent tax-free returns that is offered by the provident fund, Srinivasan said.
Prudential ICICI has designed a financial planner for individuals which works out the savings and investments that need to be made given the person's current income and expenditure and future requirements.
These include retirement benefits, housing finance and education of children, Srinivasan said.
Monthly investments in the growth, income and liquid schemes of the AMC are then planned according to risk taking nature of the customer.
As Prudential is the largest insurer in terms of market capitalisation in the world, the asset management company will have the expertise to manage long-term funds of investors.
At present the asset management company has a corpus of about Rs 170 crore from its three schemes - Rs 60 crore in the equity fund, Rs 70 crore in the income fund and Rs 43 crore in the liquid fund.
The asset management company will follow a "defensive" investment strategy given the capital market scenario, Srinivasan said.
